Imagine a corporate volunteering program that not only brings in capable volunteers but also generates meaningful financial support for your organization. With the right strategy, corporate volunteering can become a reliable source of funding, helping you cover program costs, expand services, and deepen your impact, all while strengthening relationships with companies that believe in your mission. You can create a win-win scenario where businesses engage their employees in purpose-driven work, volunteers feel a stronger connection to your cause, and your nonprofit gains the resources needed to thrive.

Building a corporate volunteering strategy for your organization comes with many questions. How will I find consistent volunteer groups? Should I ask for monetary contributions for volunteer groups? How will I make sure they’re engaged in work that meaningfully helps my organization?

Many nonprofit organizations that rely on volunteers struggle with the same questions. Although there is no one right answer, there are many ways to begin thinking about your corporate volunteering strategy to make the most out of each engagement.

When to NOT use corporate volunteering as a source for fundraising

It’s important to consider when it is best to not ask for donations during a corporate volunteering activity. Consider the types of programs you offer, the volume of volunteering requests you receive, and your organization's needs.

Situations during which it is advantageous to offer volunteering programs for free include:

• Daily or weekly programs that require many hands and you regularly struggle to find volunteers, like a daily lunch service where you need volunteers during typical working hours.
• Hosting an event that needs a large number of volunteers to make sure it runs smoothly, like an annual gala that requires setup and takedown of an event space.
• The event doesn’t cost your organization anything to run, like a DIY clothing drive run by the volunteering company.
• There’s a special project at your facility that you’ve been too busy to complete, like painting, cleaning, gardening, or organizing a storage space.
• If you’re looking for new corporate partners to support your mission. More on this later.

When and how to use corporate volunteering as a source for fundraising

There are three key things to look out for when deciding if you should charge a monetary donation for a corporate volunteer program:

1. There’s a cost to running the activity itself
2. You have an overwhelming demand for volunteering activities
3. You have a scarce supply of volunteering activities

There’s a cost to running the activity itself:

When: In some cases, running corporate volunteering programs comes at a cost to your organization. You may need to buy ingredients if the volunteer group is preparing a meal for your residents, or you may need to take time away from someone who is a health expert to run a session. Insurance may also be a limiting factor depending on the nature of the activity. All of these costs are real and need to be weighed into the price calculation for a volunteer experience.

How: Consider a cost-plus pricing model for this type of engagement. Calculate the cost of having your staff present as well as any materials that need to be purchased for the event, and add a certain percentage on top to ensure you’re raising enough to cover costs and fund other programs. Since some of the costs of these programs scale proportionately to the number of volunteers, many organizations ask for donations on a per-person basis while also setting a minimum total donation. 

For example, if you’re running an interactive research session, you could ask for $100 per volunteer with a minimum donation of $1000, thereby encouraging at least 10 volunteers to participate and improve the overall experience.

You have an overwhelming demand for volunteering activities:

When: In other cases, you might have such a high demand from corporate volunteering groups that you need to find a way to prioritize access. This is a great problem to have and ideally is the outcome of great communication, an impactful mission, and a well-structured and engaging corporate volunteering strategy. 

How: It can be tempting to jump on corporate volunteer groups as a lucrative source of fundraising revenue. However, it may still be worthwhile to add a tiered approach rather than a flat fee so as to attract groups with different-sized budgets. 

Consider offering tiered volunteer packages that not only help you attract groups with different budgets but also help you understand what companies value most in their volunteer experiences.

You have a scarce supply of volunteering activities:

When: You may have limited programs that require volunteers or work with vulnerable populations that are sensitive to volunteers. Many well-meaning corporate partners may still want to engage with your mission. In these situations, it can be tempting to create an activity that doesn’t add meaningful value to your organization, like letting a team come in to paint (or re-paint for the tenth time) a wall in your facility so they feel like they’ve made a difference. 

Though this may appear to be an effective way to engage corporate partners, the long-term negative effects can outweigh the short-term benefits. It can demoralize your staff and volunteer groups end up taking on an activity that isn’t impactful or necessary.

How: If you don’t have many volunteering opportunities to offer, consider keeping these only available to your top corporate partners. Including curated volunteer experiences as an added perk for donors can help teams feel appreciated and connected to your cause. If you do feel the need to create volunteer opportunities, rather than having items do menial projects at your facility, create guidelines for DIY fundraisers that corporate teams can run on their own. 

Getting creative with contributions from your corporate partners

If companies don’t have the budget for monetary gifts, there are plenty of other creative ways to gain support from corporate volunteers. Here are just a few ideas that you can implement to make creative use of the talents and networks of corporate volunteers:

• In-Kind Donations: Small donations of items may help offset the cost of hosting volunteers. Whether volunteers bring in a collection of books, school supplies, hygiene products, nonperishable snacks, or clothing, think of ways that organizations can help support your most high-need areas (When to use: if companies don't have a monetary donation budget participate in your volunteering programs but care deeply about your cause, with the goal of creating advocates).
• ‘Freemium’ Volunteering: Perhaps offering the first volunteer opportunity for free can help corporate groups connect to the impact and outcomes of your mission. People are far more likely to donate when they connect with your cause. (When to use: you want new potential corporate sponsors or monthly donors to connect with your cause).
• Professional Feedback: Take time to understand the profiles of your volunteers. If a marketing department is volunteering as a team-building exercise, ask for feedback or ideas on your communication strategy or upcoming campaigns. Seemingly small contributions like these can help improve the efficacy of your future fundraising efforts (When to use: if companies don't have a monetary donation budget participate in your volunteering programs and you have specific campaigns or projects you'd like reviewed).
• Amplify your Mission: Ask groups to share pictures and stories on social media. Word of mouth is a great way to attract future volunteers and donors (When to use: help companies who have a large audience that may not have a monetary donation budget participate in your volunteering programs).
• Volunteer Stewardship: Create an outreach strategy specifically designed to engage the individual who volunteered. Share with them the impact they made, stories of your constituents, or any upcoming events you may be hosting. Any one donor who sets up a monthly recurring donation of $100 has the potential to generate more revenue than a flat group volunteering fee (When to use: when you have the capacity to create a meaningful post-volunteering campaign that encourages donations, advocacy, and return volunteers).

Putting it all together

Like with all fundraising, it’s best to have a plan, set goals, and test to see how well your strategy works. None of the strategies listed above exist in isolation. You may find yourself thinking about how to mix and match them to create a corporate volunteering fundraising strategy that works best for your organization.

In reality, things are rarely so easy to assess and it can be easy to start making exceptions or bending your rules to give corporate volunteers a chance to participate. If you find yourself in this situation, it may mean that you need to make tweaks to your corporate volunteering strategy. By continually refining your corporate volunteering strategy, you’ll position your organization to secure essential funding (when appropriate) and build lasting partnerships that drive your mission forward.

At Purposely, we help companies around the world to develop intentional volunteer programs so they can support organizations doing good in their community. We help you build a corporate volunteering foundation and connect individuals and groups to the programs that make the biggest impact to your constituents. Skilled corporate volunteers are available on weekdays and during typical working hours and are eager to support your mission.